NDP tries to tackle Wynne's hydro mess

While it’s a close race to the bottom, we can all agree there is no file that our leftist premier has bungled more than energy.

In the past year, Kathleen Wynne has sold off 30% of Hydro One to scrape up money for transit and to pay down the Ontario debt — before she has to face the electorate in little more than a year’s time.

Her plan, at least so far, is to sell off another 30% of the energy monopoly.

(Need I remind everyone that had $2 billion not been wasted on spiking two gas plants and on e-Health — not to mention those lavish contracts to buy labour peace with teachers and other Ontario unions and the tremendous amount needed to service Ontario’s debt — there might be money for transit. Details, details!)

For one thing, the sell-off has done nothing to lessen Ontario’s Hydro hell — that is the crushing electricity bills experienced by residents and businesses alike.

But to add insult to injury, once Wynne started privatizing Hydro, the door shut on transparency. There’s no imperative to reveal the outrageous salaries of the top brass or to be accountable to customers.

Sure there is a new ombudsman, Fiona Crean. Yet the highly-political public servant appears to be nothing more than window dressing. She spent her first year on the job travelling around the province listening to public concerns but a review of her website shows no investigations to date.

Is there any better reason why Wynne and her tired Liberals have sunk to a new low with 24% in a recently released Forum poll?

I’m not the least bit shocked, although it’s a long way to election day.

Entitled “Pay less, own more” the cornerstone of the NDP platform is to buy back the 30% of Hydro shares now owned privately — the up to $4 billion cost to be financed by the dividends the province gave up when the 30% portion was sold off.

Now I’m always suspect of leftist math, but at least Horwath is talking about the single biggest issue currently facing hard working Ontario residents and one which will continue to spark anger heading into next year’s election.

I especially applaud the proposal to cut mandatory-time-of-use electricity pricing — which has seen rates virtually double during what are considered peak times of the day. According to the well-researched NDP report (the Dippers certainly do their homework), it’s not working, has not resulted in lower hydro bills and has simply made it more stressful for those Ontario residents who have no choice but to do their laundry, etc. during peak hours.

In recent months I’ve given up doing my laundry at 11 p.m. when I saw that our hydro bills weren’t impacted one bit.

Keeping the 8% HST off hydro bills — as Horwath also suggests — was part of my own platform when I ran against Liberal Eric Hoskins in St. Paul’s in 2009. We should not credit Wynne’s move to rebate the 8% HST as anything more than a cheap pre-election ploy.

Kudos to Horwath for at least trying to put some solutions on the radar. The PCs certainly haven’t come up with any sort of a plan but one can always hope this will turn on a few lightbulbs within the Tory caucus.